When it came to mastering the perfect, no fuss, pumpkin pie I turned to Lauren Conrad’s book Celebrate and learned a thing or two about baking the pie of my dreams. I’ve made this pie a handful of times and it always turns out to be an absolute hit. I’ve played around with the recipe a lot, due to the fact that baking a pie can be beyond frustrating, but I’ve finally got it right. Without further adieu, it’s time to put on your apron and bake the perfect pumpkin pie.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 ½ packages of finely ground graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter, melted
For the Filling
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 large eggs
- 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
- 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
- Couple dashes of ground nutmeg
Directions
Start by making the crust. Place the packages of graham crackers in a one-gallon Ziploc bag and crush up the graham crackers with a rolling pin until they resemble fine crumbs. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter in a bowl and mix until the mixture resembles wet sand. Using your hands, press the mixture over the bottom and up the sides of a pre-sprayed nine-inch pie pan.
Preheat the oven to 400 ̊F and start preparing the filling. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, ginger, cloves, eggs, and pumpkin puree. Once those are all mixed together, slowly add in the evaporated milk while stirring occasionally. After thoroughly mixing the filling together, pour it into your already prepared pie crust, dash on some nutmeg, and cover with foil. Pro tip: Try to make a small dome-like shape with your foil so that it doesn’t stick to your pie filling while baking.
Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 ̊F and bake for an additional 60 to 70 minutes. Check to make sure the pie is completely baked by inserting a toothpick into the center and pulling out a clean toothpick. If your toothpick isn’t clean, bake for an additional 10 to 15-minute intervals until your pie passes the toothpick test.
